“The General
Assembly presents an ideal opportunity for the professional fellowship to
"learn, network, socialize".The headquarters of the United
Nations IP body was deemed a suitably symbolic venue to celebrate the 10th anniversary for what is primarily a pan-European Association comprising almost
one hundred members from twenty two countries representing a cross-section of
all forms of intellectual property, industry, law practice and consulting. The
combination of awe inspiring views, a comprehensive day of presentations on
leading edge IP subjects, and an off-site dinner made for a most memorable
occasion.

After a “State of the Association”
update by the exiting President, usual Board activities (Statutes tuning,
aerating ideas for the future), Officer elections followed and activity moved
on to hot topic presentations (copies of which are available on the I3PM
website).

IP Management Education was addressed
by Alexander Wurzer, Adjunct-Professor at CEIPI, Director of studies for MIPLM,
who is not only an Advisory Board member but in some way a progenitor, or at
least founding inspirer, of the Institute. Chantal Koller, Managing Director
& Trademark Attorney at Novagraaf Switzerland reviewed best practices in
the management of trademarks, touching on e.g. remarkable improvements with
Asian clients’ in portfolio management techniques. Philippe Therias gave a unique
fascinating insight into FOSS (Free & Open Source Software) company
management processes being one of the subject matter pathfinders having been
there from the very start with a key company behind its creation and evolution.
Martin Chatel, Product & Quality Manager, Dennemeyer reviewed EPO’s
validation agreements with a very interesting deep dive into the evolving patent/industry
climate in Morocco.

After lunch WIPO also fielded
presentations on patents, copyright and trademarks. Christine Bonvallet, Senior
Legal Officer, updated on the latest PCT developments (including PPH and the
possible integration into the PCT). Sara Amini, Senior Project Officer, reviewed
WIPO tools for users of the Madrid System in an alive and engaging manner.
Paolo Lanteri, Legal Officer, gave a thought-provoking insight into copyright
in the digital environment at WIPO. The presentations were very interesting and
stimulating to the point of insufficient time to field all the desired
questions.

WIPO’s generous tour of their
incredible New Conference Hall, an architectural splendour (really), rounded
off the day before all retired to enjoy a good social dinner Swiss style after
a walk down the hill toward the lake. Dinner conversation ranged from past post
mortems to idealistic broad brushstroke future directions via germane short
term realities. But overall what shone though is a friendly informal
atmosphere, an enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with colleagues, a desire to
do more in the future, as well of course to be on the cutting edge of the
intangible asset economy, whilst maintaining mainstream relevancy.

I3PM is dedicated to promoting the
field of IP Management and thereby enhance the emergence of a dynamic IP-driven
economy. It does so by forming a unique experience pool in the management and
realisation of value from intangible assets. The
general object of the Institute is to study problems relating to the management
of intellectual property and to the profession of the members of the Institute,
to come to conclusions on these problems and to convey these conclusions to the
authorities and other interested parties as recommendations or opinions or as
drafts. The Association promotes the highest standards in ethics, education and
professional excellence. Access to outstanding publications, education
resources and career services help secure a professional advantage to advance
members’ careers. Cooperation with other related bodies, e.g. Observership at
WIPO, keep the Association abreast of the latest developments in the field, as
does organizing conferences on specialized subjects, e.g. “IP Management
Challenges Arising from Pervasive Digitalization”. The Institute’s Statutes
require a General Assembly every second year with elections to officer posts
being held, hot topics discussed and an opportunity to get together in a
collegiate environment provided. Previous venues include Brussels, Munich and
Strasbourg. An outstanding Advisory Board of industrial, academic and
institutional representatives has been assembled. Subject matter experts, and
luminaries, are present at all levels of the Association eager to participate
and interact with each other. Ambitious but realistic plans exist for the coming
years and great appreciation is felt towards all those who have expended effort
along the journey so far. I3PM welcomes inquiries from prospective candidates
and other IP associations, academia, industry etc. Contact is easy via the
website or colleague-members."